Friar puck: Wildcats need win in tight Hockey East race

DURHAM – The University of New Hampshire hockey team’s 6-5 loss to Providence three weeks ago was a good example of what not to do.

Falling behind by scores of 4-0 and 5-1 seldom leads to success. The inevitable result was the Wildcats’ first loss to the Friars in almost six years.

UNH hopes to avoid a similar pitfall when the clubs engage in a home-and-home series next week, beginning Sunday (4 p.m., CBS Sports) at the Whittemore Center.

The teams will meet again Wednesday night (7) at PC’s Schneider Arena. The game was postponed from Friday to Wednesday because of the snowstorm.

The Wildcats themselves too deep of a hole on Jan. 19 and the Friars held on for the win. The six goals are the most UNH has given up in a game this season.

“I think we underestimated them the last time,” said senior forward Austin Block. “We didn’t backcheck and we didn’t funnel back in the zone like we need to and they capitalized on more than one occasion.”

After struggling against PC goalie Jon Gillies during the first half of that game, the Wildcats struck five times over the last period and a half but couldn’t complete the comeback.

The 6-foot-5 freshman, and son of former UNH goalie Brue Gillies, enters Sunday’s contest with a 2.18 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage.

“He’s a big guy,” said coach Dick Umile. “We have to make sure he moves and challenge him. You’ve got to get screens and take his eyes away. Otherwise it has to be a great shot. We’ve got to get in those areas.”

The Wildcats struggled with 6-4 Merrimack goalie Sam Marotta in last Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Warriors at the Whitt.

Marotta made 51 saves as UNH outshot Merrimack, 52-24, backstopping Providence to its first victory in Durham since March 12, 2004.

“We’ve got to get to their goaltender right away and not give him a chance to settle in and really attack as much as possible as quickly as possible,” said alternate captain Brett Kostolansky. “We’ve got to get into his head and get pucks to the net and make sure he’s uncomfortable in net.”

Last week’s loss was an exercise in frustration for the Wildcats, who outshot Merrimack, 40-16, over the final two periods.

“It was disappointing,” Umile said. “That’s as (good) as we’ve played and we ended up losing. I told the team we need to play like that all the time. We’ve got to find ways to score goals. We couldn’t find the back of the net. I thought the guys played hard. We managed the puck pretty well against a pretty good team.”

UNH and Providence are two of six teams in serious contention for the Hockey East regular-season title as well as home ice for the first round of the playoffs.

Fourth-ranked UNH (16-7-2, 11-6-1 HE) is currently in second place, two points behind Boston College with a game in hand on the Eagles which they’ll make up this weekend.

Providence (10-10-5, 8-6-4 HE) is in fifth, three points behind UNH. Five points separate first place from fifth.

The Wildcats have lost back-to-back games only once this season and have yet to suffer a weekend sweep.

“You don’t want to drop two,” Umile said. “You at least want to get a split. We’re focusing on home ice right now. That’s going to be so darn important in this league.”

UNH is just 5-6 in its last 11 games while the Friars are 0-1-2 since beating the Wildcats.

Providence played Maine to a 2-2 draw last Friday. The Friars held a 2-0 lead in the third period before the Black Bears rallied.

“Our league is so close right now,” Kostolansky said. “There are no easy games. It should be a playoff mindset from here on out.”

UNH plays four of its next five games on the road followed by a four-game homestand to close out the regular season.

“Hopefully we can put a streak together and get home ice,” Block said. “I think that gives us the best chance to make a long run down the stretch and into the national tournament.

“I haven’t seen the conference this close since I’ve been at UNH,” Block added. “As exciting as that is for everyone else, we need to find a way to win games, and now is a good time to start.”

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Senior alternate captain Greg Burke remains out with a concussion. According to Umile, the Lee native has shown slight improvement.

“He’s slowly getting there,” Umile said, “but he’s got a way to go. It’s getting late. He’ll need time to get back at it. It’s going to be tough for him.”

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Freshman defenseman Brett Pesce, who turned 18 earlier this season, is the highest-ranked college player in the Central Scouting Service’s mid-term, pre-draft report.

He’s ranked 36th among all North American skaters and is projected as a possible first- or second-round draft pick, according to several outlets.

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